


Peter Parker: Broke, Genius, Highschool Criminal

by levelofmelatonin



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:29:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23050990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levelofmelatonin/pseuds/levelofmelatonin
Summary: Peter Parker and his pals are bored, bitter, and broke. They come up with a plan to remedy (or at least suppress) all of these issues: they have the perfect crime team. MJ, the planner and leader, Ned, the guy in the chair, and Peter Parker, well... Spiderman.But these guys get on a few different people's radars, and end up getting deeper into the world of crime and superpowers than they ever expected.
Relationships: Loki & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	1. It All Started in Detention

Peter Parker rolled his eyes at his best friend in the whole word. The guy couldn't stop giggling. It was a little annoying, but Peter couldn't get too irritated. He sort of felt a little giggly himself today. Because today- today was revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge.

"I can't wait to see his stupid face." Ned said, and then giggled, again. 

"You're gonna give it away as soon as we walk through the doors if you keep giggling like that, Ned." Peter chastised. "Seriously, get a grip. We've got to act like we're at the bottom of the food chain."

Ned tried to school his expression but he still looked giddy, face flushed twitching with the effort it took for him not to grin ear to ear. Peter facepalmed.

He and Ned had been neighbors- and friends- since second grade. Peter loved his friend, and he wouldn't change him- but sometimes he did wonder if he would've had a chance at popularity if they'd never met. Not in any sort of bitter way, he was just curious. As it was, he was happy to be friends with Ned, even if it meant being bullied. Everyone likes a good underdog story anyway.

So what sort of revenge was due today? Well, today was the day they woud finally be pranking Flash Thompson.

Peter had been working on a solution for the past couple weeks in the physics lab during class- it was sort of like superglue, but it would dissolve after a few hours. He had managed to sneak some into his backpack and now... the possibilities were endless. He'd given a container of it to Ned as well, and they'd been talking about all the ways they would be able to use it.

Glue him to his seat.

Glue his packpack to the floor.

Glue his locker door shut.

Glue his car doors shut.

Just thinking about it made Peter feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today could very well end up being one of the best days of his life.

The hallways smelled of dirty laundry and disinfectant. Peter and Ned walked through more silently than usual. On most days they'd be joking about something stupid, or talking about a project, or planning the next time they were going to hang out. But they couldn't think of anything but pranking Flash Thompson, and they couldn't very well talk about their evil plans right in the hallways.

When the first bell rang, Peter grabbed Ned's arm and looked at him. "Remember." He said. "Don't get caught."

-

It was the middle of English class. Peter bounced his leg and pursed his lips to one side, trying to look uncomfortable. It was all part of the plan, but so far, no one was noticing. Or they were and were ignoring it. He shifted in his seat a few times, furrowed his eyebrows, tapped his fingers, shifted again. Finally, Mrs. Kim stopped midsentence and looked at him with her eyebrows raised and said, "Mr. Parker. Is there something wrong?"

Peter's shook his head emphatically as he answered. "Oh, I'm fine, Mrs. K, really. I just- I just need to use the bathroom- I know Jim already went and only one person is supposed to go each class... but I really need to."

Mrs. Kim sighed, hands on her hips and stared him down with narrow eyes. It felt like she was trying to stare through him, or activate her laser eyes, which Peter was pretty sure she had. But she finally broke her gaze. "Peter." She said with a sigh. "You may go. But don't think this means this is going to happen all the time. But it's clear you're having trouble paying attention, not to mention distracting the whole class with your fidgeting."

"Thank you!" Peter sprang up and walked from the classroom as quickly as he could. As soon as he was out he went around the corner and took the super dissolving glue out of the pocket of his hoodie and stared at it, heart racing.

"You got this, Peter... just a little rebellion, it's cool... it's healthy, even. You got this, you got this." He whispered a pep talk to himself. Then, he got moving.

He went to Flash's locker. With a makeup brush he'd stolen from his Aunt May, he slathered the solution all around the edges and then stood back to admire his work. Then, as a final touch, he poured just a little on the floor in front of the locker. Maybe, just maybe, Flash would stand there and get stuck to the ground. Peter chuckled to himself- that would be amazing.

He was just about to go back to class when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.

"Peter Parker. What do you think you're doing?"

Peter slowly turned around, eyes wide. Standing there, arms crossed, was a teacher, Mr. James.

"Nothing, sir! I was just- uh-"

"What's this?" The teacher asked, gesturing to the sticky solution and the makeup brush. "Some kind of practical joke?"

"Uhh-"

"Who's locker is this?"

"It's mine!"

"It's your locker?" Mr. James raised one eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Open it, then."

Peter turned to the locker and stared it down, but after just a few seconds he turned back around again. "It's not my locker..." He admitted. "It's Flash Thompson's. I was trying to play a prank on him."

"I see."

They stood in silence for a moment as Mr. James stared down at him though his thin, wire frame glasses.

"That'll be detention for you, Peter."

"Yeah... I kind of figured."

-

Detention was him, Ned (who also got caught), a couple kids in black hoodies and ripped jeans, and MJ, a girl who really didn't say much but managed to pop up just about everywhere. Ned thought she was cool, but he would never say that, because he also thought she was scary. And honestly, Peter thought so too. But then, almost everyone did.

She wore the same worn out leather jacket every day, combat books, dark makeup, and fishnet tights under her ripped to shreds jeans. It seemed like she had a new piece of metal in her ears every week, and she had an eyebrow bar. It looked cool, but it also looked like she would murder anyone who glanced at her wrong.

"You know, we might've gotten caught, but at least we still got the glue down." Peter whispered to Ned. The teacher was up at the front of the class going over paperwork with earplugs in, so he probably wouldn't hear them.

"Yeah, but man, I wanted to see him freak out." Ned whined.

"I know, dude, but we can picture it at least."

Ned looked over at MJ. She had a sketchbook and was making short pencil strokes on it, every once in a while looking up to glance around the room. After a moment, she noticed the two of them staring and narrowed her eyes.

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

Ned paled and stuttered. "I- I don't know- I was- was I looking at something? I was looking at Peter. Right Peter? I was looking at you, right?"

"Yeah, yes, that is completely correct. We were looking at each other." He nodded once to puntuate the statement and smiled.

"Right..." MJ slowly looked back down at her sketchbook and both boys sighed in relief.

Ned stared wide eyed and Peter. "We almost just died." He whispered.

Peter got out his own notebook and started doodling. He drew a little cactus, and then a butterfly, and then he started drawing the avengers. He drew a little doodle of Iron Man punching Captain America, and then he drew the Hulk. And he put an apron on him and had him holding a batch of cupcakes.

"Hey Parker." MJ said from across the classroom.

He froze right in the middle of adding cherries on top of the cupcakes.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Whatcha sketching?"

Peter's face flushed.

"Uhh... just some little doodles. You know..." She stood up, walked over, and sat in the chair right beside him, and held out her hand for the notebook.

Peter held the notebook close to his chest. 

"Let me see." She said.

"What? No. No!"

MJ rolled her eyes. "I'll show you mine."

Ned sat up straighter in his chair where he had been slouched over trying to look inconspicuous and unassuming. "Show her, Peter. Don't you wanna be able to say that MJ showed us her sketchbook? Cool points for sure, dude."

Peter hesitated, but finally, he slapped his notebook down on the desk in front of him, and MJ picked it up. He expected her to laugh at it and make fun, but instead she just stared. The corner of her mouth lifted in what could have been a smile, but Peter couldn't tell. Then she handed him her sketchbook.

It was a sketch of him and Ned in conversation, and it was actually pretty good.

"Whoa, this is cool." Peter said.

"Yeah, whoa, it actually is."

"Surprised?"

"What? No. Of course not."

"So what are you nerds doing here anyway?" MJ asked.

"Played a prank on Flash Thompson." Ned said smugly.

"Yeah? What kind of prank?"

Ned told her about it, and made it sound way cooler than it actually was. He used gestures, and told it as cinematically as he possibly could. Peter rolled his eyes as he listened. MJ nodded along, probably regretting having asked. 

"You know..." She said, when Ned was finally done. "This sticky dissolving super glue stuff that Peter made... it could be really useful for a lot of things."

"What kind of things?" Peter asked.

"Well, I mean, I don't know. You tell me."

"You're the one who brought it up."

"No, I didn't." She lifted her chin.

"Okay..."

-

Before Peter and Ned left that day, Peter turned to MJ. "We're going to a movie tomorrow." He said. "The cinema on Twelfth Street, at 7:30, if you wanna come."

"Nah, you two are losers."

"Okay...."


	2. MJ's Secret Sketchbook

MJ showed up at the movies the next day. 

"I thought you weren't coming cause we're losers." Peter stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets as he spoke.

"Yeah, well I wasn't wrong about that. But nah, I'm actually a loser too, so why not, right?"

MJ's combat boots were red and sparkly today, and she wore red winged eyeliner to match. She actually looked sort of happy, with an open playfullness in her eyes that should have looked out of place, but really didn't.

"Oh. Well cool! We actually didn't know what movie we were gonna see, were there any you wanted to?"

"Dude, I kinda wanted to see The Lego Movie." Ned chimed in.

"What... dude, no, MJ doesn't want to see that movie, she-"

"Oh, I'm sorry... can I not speak for myself? Or, for that matter, think for myself either?" She put a hand dramatically on her chest and raised her eyebrows high in mock offense.

"Oh, sorry."

"But no, you're right, I don't want to see that movie." She amended, with a slate blank face.

Ned visibly drooped in disappointment.

She broke into a smile again. "Actually, my cousin is playing in a band at a few streets down, I was wondering if you guys would rather go there? Hang out and listen to live music? I know you guys are science geeks and not music nerds, but I need some new friends and thought of you guys, I mean... you obviously need a body guard anyway and I would be happy to oblige." She paused, and for the first time ever, Peter thought she actually looked nervous. Who would have thought that the tough girl secretly just wanted a couple friends? "Well... whatta ya say?" She asked.

"Sounds cool!" Ned said, eyes lighting up like a happy puppy. "Right, Peter?"

Peter nodded along. "Yeah, I could go for that. Lead the way, MJ."

Peter thought to himself that they must have looked like a mismatched group, walking down the street together. A tall, slender girl in gothic punk attire, and then him and Ned wearing their favorite science pun hoodies. Must have looked like they were being led to the slaughterhouse, he joked to himself.

When they walked into the little venue, MJ pointed out her cousin on stage, and then led them to a corner table. A waiter waved at her, and she waved back. It seemed like these people knew her pretty well.

There was a minute or two of silence- tangible silence, the sort of silence you're all too aware of. Peter wanted to say something to remedy it, but the harder he tried to think of an icebreaker, the less he could think of anything to say.

It ended up being Ned who broke the silence. 

"So, MJ," He said, and Peter watched him warily as he spoke. He wasn't always the most tactful. 

"What's up?" She asked, glancing away from the band on stage to look at him.

"You're kind of like, a bad girl, ya know? Like, you're tough and everyone thinks you've probably killed someone before, or at least seriously maimed, do you think- maybe, like..." Ned trailed off.

MJ looked over to Peter, and Peter just shrugged and sighed. 

"Okay," Ned took a deep breath and put both his hands on the table, looking up with dramatic solemnity. "You have a reputation. For being pretty tough."

"Yeah?"

"Well, Peter and I have a reputation for being...."

"Not very tough?" Peter chimed in.

"Yeah, but, MJ, if we hang out with you, maybe people will start thinking we're tough too?"

Peter raised his eyebrows.

"I think that's a longshot for you guys."

"Hey!" Peter said, leaning back in his chair. "We can be tough! We pranked Flash, remember? Even if we did get caught, the prank still worked!"

Ned and Peter both laughed. But MJ did not. Whatever sort of smile she may have had on her face before faded, and she began to stare into the distance, towards her brother's band on stage. They were playing a classic rock song that Peter had heard a million times, knew the chorus, but couldn't tell you who sung if for the life of him. They were good, the band. But that wasn't why MJ was staring at them. In fact, she wasn't staring at them. It was more like she was staring right through them.

"MJ?" Peter asked, after watching her for a moment. 

"Hm?" She glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said, quickly, with a single shake of the head. She reached behind her to pick up her bag, and pulled out a sketchbook. It was not the same sketchbook she had in detention, though. This one was bound in what looked like dark brown leather, and had a lock on it. She didn't open it. She just set it on the table in front of her and put her hand flat on it. "I was just thinking of something. But it's nothing."

Peter didn't want to pry. He could tell something was wrong. We aren't friends, he told himself. We barely know each other.

They sat in silence once again. Usually Peter would enjoy the live music, but it was more of an annoying background drone today. He tried to get out of his mind, but he couldn't stop staring at MJ's slender fingers resting atop the cover of her sketchbook.

It was as though she had gotten it out as a source of comfort. But that source of comfort wasn't working. She was tense. She was twitching. She was trying too hard to look relaxed, and Peter wasn't buying it.

After a couple more moments of silence, MJ stood abruptly. "I need to go home." She scooped up her sketchbook, and tried to shove it back in her bag, but it wasn't fitting.

"Hey, whoa, is everything okay?" Peter asked, standing. "Let us walk you home, okay? Please?"

"Yeah, let us walk you home." Ned echoed.

"Why, cause... cause I'm a girl?" MJ asked. She tried to put on her usual bravado, but Peter narrowed his eyes at her. Was her voice shaking?

"No." He reached forward to hold her bag open for her so she could put her sketchbook in it.

"Because we're supposed to be friends now, right?"

Her shoulders visibly drooped.

"I think- I think I'll be okay." She said. And with that, she walked off and out of the venue.

"That was weird." Ned said, still sitting at the table.

"Yeah." Peter agreed, still looking in the direction MJ had left.

Ned finished his drink and stood, clapping Peter on shoulder. "Well, let's go, dude. We've got a Lego death star back at your place that isn't gonna finish itself."

"Yeah." Peter said. "Let's go."

-

It was getting dark when Ned and Peter got to Peter and his Aunt May's apartment. And it was getting cold too. The two hustled inside, and stumbled into the kitchen to look for some snacks to take up to Peter's room, but they stopped.

Aunt May was at the table, bent over, head in her hands, shoulders shaking.

Peter rushed over to her. "May? May, what's wrong?"

She didn't look up, but pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes and shook her head, back and forth.

"I'm so sorry, Peter."

"Whatever it is, it's okay. Please tell me what's wrong." He sat down across from her and took her hands away from her face. "Please?"

May took a deep breath and looked up with watery, bloodshot eyes.

"I lost my job, Peter. They think I've been stealing money."

Peter sat in stunned silence. It was a shock. It was horrible. How could anyone think that of my Aunt May?

He sighed, and leaned forward, trying to make eye contact with his aunt, who had sunken in on herself again. "Aunt May, it's gonna be okay. I promise. It's late, we can figure this out tomorrow, okay?"

May shuddered and gulped, tearing up all over again, but nodded. "Okay." She whispered.

Ned went home. Peter went to bed early, after making sure Aunt May was going to be okay.

But he didn't sleep.

There was too much to think about. His mind raced. Images and sounds surfaced and resurfaced, the result of an exhausted mind, and he hadn't even done that much that day.

He was scared, though he wasn't going to share it. And he was angry, really angry. And still, through all that, he thought of MJ, and her sketchbook, and why that particular one seemed to be so important.

He wondered if they'd ever be friends. Not just new acquaintances with big talk of becoming friends. Real friends, like him and Ned, who could talk about anything and everything.

He just wondered what the future would hold. Everything always seemed to change so fast. He just couldn't seem to keep up sometimes.


End file.
